Polling stations begin closing in US presidential election

Polling stations have begun closing in Tuesday's US election as millions of American voters decide whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris will be the next president.

The first wave of exit polls has just been released, with voters naming the state of democracy and the economy as the most important issues for them.

Whichever way it goes the result will be historic - either giving America its first woman president or marking a seismic political comeback for Trump.

A high turnout has been predicted, but the outcome may not be known for several days if the results are as close as polls have indicated.

Whoever wins the White House may have their hands tied by Congress, which is also up for grabs in Tuesday’s vote.

Republicans narrowly control the House of Representatives, while Democrats have a slim majority in the Senate.

Opinion polls suggest both chambers could flip the other way.

Among the first places where voting will end is Georgia - one of the seven swing states expected to determine the outcome.

The others are Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The elections follow one of the most turbulent campaigns in recent American history.

Vice-President Harris only became the Democratic Party candidate in July, after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race under pressure from within the party.

Trump was the subject of two assassination plots - narrowly avoiding a sniper's bullet in Pennsylvania.

The former president voted earlier in the day near his home in Palm Beach, Florida.

"If I lose an election, if it's a fair election, I'm gonna be the first one to acknowledge it," he said.

Harris, who voted early by mail in her home state of California, is due later to address students Howard University, a historically black college in Washington DC, where she was an undergraduate.

"To go back tonight to Howard University, my beloved alma mater, and be able to hopefully recognise this day for what it is is really full circle for me," Harris said on a radio interview earlier.

If she wins, Harris, 60, the first female vice-president, would become the first woman, black woman and South-Asian American to win the presidency.

Trump, 78, the only president to be impeached twice and the first former president to be criminally convicted, would become the first president to win non-consecutive terms in more than 130 years.

The first exit poll information has been released, looking at the issues motivating Americans as they cast their ballots, but not directly asking who they voted for.

Polling by the BBC's partner network, CBS, suggests around a third of people asked said the state of democracy was their top concern, out of the five options given.

The economy ranked second, with three in 10 voters choosing it, according to this preliminary data.

Abortion and immigration followed on the list, while foreign policy was deemed the least important.

Source: BBC